Todays

“Tested Sentence That Sells” 

This and future postings on the topic are not about philosophies or basic business principles but about those concrete words to say in customer interactions that greatly enhance the likelihood of closing a deal.

I’ll be sharing with you “Tested Sentences” that have been proven to be the most effective in getting us in auto sales into the fast lane on the road to a sale, and when closing the deal at the end of that road.

When working up words that work before trying them out on a customer, they need to be put through a review process and make sure they pass some basic tests.

• What are the probable customer responses?
• Are the probable responses likely to create an issue for us?
• What are the best answers to probable customer responses?
• Is it easy to remember?

Once put through the process the sentence will either be rejected or testing with customers begins. Within a very short period it becomes evident whether the sentence will be successful enough to make it a sentence we will default to in the appropriate situation. In the case of Todays “Tested Sentence” it is used with every customer.

In every instance I have personally used these “Tested Sentences That Sell” with customers prior to implementing their use in the dealership.

In a regular training meeting there was discussion of how it is beneficial to the sales person and the dealership to know if any particular customer had been there before and why.

I know most of you will be familiar with why the sales people thought it was important. They believed it was so they wouldn’t waste any time working with someone for half a deal.

From my perspective as the General Manager I wanted to know if they were a previous customer, if they were currently working with someone and attempt a trial close all in one phrase.

Then came the discussion about how do we find out if the customer has been there before. Many thought the direct “have you been to our dealership before?” or “how did you decide on our dealership today?” was the best way.

What I decided to test out was this:

“Will today be your first purchase from our dealership?”

Why these are “Words That Work”:

• There is no bad answer
• It is easy to remember

Possible customer answers to our question and our response to them:

• Answer: “Yes” Our Response: “Great, I’m glad you’ve chosen to let us fill your vehicle needs”.
• Answer: “No, I’ve bought 2 others cars here” Our response: “Great, so today will be number 3?” A Yes or a No at this point are responded to like the responses both above and below this bullet.
• Answer: “No, I’m not buying today” Our Response: Watch this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPMA5b-1uw8 this answer involves a couple of “Tested Sentences” strung together into one very powerful and highly effective technique for responding to this particular answer from the customer.

I first learned the absolute power of short, properly worded phrases from the man that coined the phrase “Don’t sell the steak, sell the sizzle”. He’s been dead since 1968 (I was 13 then) but his books have lived on and are still widely read. His most famous book is likely still the largest selling book on sales ever published.

A copy of that book is what most influenced me in my sales career. “Tested Sentences That Sell” by Elmer Wheeler can be had for free in pdf format at www.elmerwheeler.net

Next “Tested Sentence That Sells” in this series:

“Always is, isn’t it?”

Mike Stoner

(206) 715-8662

www.theshopperstopper.com